2 Corinthians 5:14-17 NASB For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; [15] and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. [16] Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. [17] Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
When we are controlled by the love of Christ, we no longer see people as we once did. As new creations, we see people through the lens of the love of Jesus. One of the ways that we can determine if we see others through our union with Jesus is when people do disappointing and offensive things. When they do, are we primarily disappointed in them, or are we disappointed for them? Do we get mainly offended with them, or do we get offended for them? What do I mean by this? Let me give you what I believe is an accurate translation of John 3:16, “God so fiercely loves the world that He gave His only son, that whoever trusts in Him will not throw their lives away but will have the abundant life that goes on forever, which He created us to have.” I am so glad that God wasn’t so disappointed and offended with the world full of broken, misbehaving humanity that He decided to let them stay in the self-destructive spiral they were in that would cause them to eventually live in eternal separation from His presence and His love because that is what they deserve.
I understand that people have to be held accountable for their actions. I understand that, but I find that when someone does something extremely disappointing and offensive, I find myself disappointed for them because Jesus loves them so much that He gave His life for them so that they wouldn’t throw their lives away. When I get offended with people, I find that I want to turn from them in disdain, but when I’m offended for them, it is because I know that no matter how much they may have hurt others, they are acting out of their own brokenness because of the reign of sin’s effect on their lives. It breaks my heart because they are missing out on all that Jesus accomplished for them in His finished work. They are throwing their lives away in anger, hatred, depression, resentment, lust, jealousy, etc., etc. Again, I know that people are responsible for their choices, but being compelled by the love of Jesus and being disappointed for them compels me to not turn away from them in disdain but to turn toward them, longing that they would experience the wholeness that Christ offers. It helps me to remember that Jesus died on the cross out of love for the worst of us. After all, Jesus went out of His way and turned towards the woman at the well to quench the thirst of her broken life. His followers were disgusted with her. Jesus gave her the water of eternal life.